Job-ready Graduates - Frequently Asked Questions

FEE‑HELP is a HELP loan that assists higher education students to pay for their tuition fees for full fee‑paying courses.

The FEE‑HELP loan fee only applies to undergraduate students who are not in Commonwealth supported places (CSPs) at a non‑university higher education provider, or at a Table A university.

You will not have a loan fee applied to your FEE‑HELP loan if:

• you are a Commonwealth supported student
• you study at a Table B university (Bond University, Torrens University or the University of Divinity) and your unit of study has a census date after 1 January 2019
• your course is postgraduate study (including higher degrees by research) or is an enabling course
• you are enrolled in units of study through Open Universities Australia
• you are getting a FEE‑HELP loan to pay for approved bridging studies.

The loan fee exemption will only apply to units of study with a census date on or between 1 April 2020 and 31 December 2021. The loan fee reduction from 25 per cent to 20 per cent, will apply to units of study with a census date on or after 1 January 2022.

The discount means that if you pay 90 per cent of your student contribution amount as an upfront payment your entire student contribution amount will be paid, as the Government will pay the other 10 per cent directly to your provider.

Upfront payments must be made on or before the census date or your higher education provider’s earlier administrative date for the relevant study period. The sum of upfront payments must be $500 or more (or equal to 90 per cent of the sum of your student contribution amounts) for units of study with the same census date. For more information about making upfront payments, the student administration area of your provider will be able to assist you.

Robert is required to pay a student contribution amount for a unit of study of $2,745 by 31 January 2021 and makes an upfront payment in relation to the unit of $900 on 20 January 2021.

Robert is entitled to HECS‑HELP assistance for the unit of $1,845 ($2,745 minus $900), which the Commonwealth must pay to the higher education provider.

The upfront payment in relation to the unit exceeded $500 so there is a HECS‑HELP discount of $100 (one‑ninth of $900). The Commonwealth lends to Robert the remainder of the HECS‑HELP assistance in relation to the unit, an amount of $1,745 ($1,845 minus $100).

Providers will be required to cancel your HELP debt if you were ineligible for the HELP loan, or if the provider completed your request for Commonwealth assistance on their behalf.

An Equivalent Full Time Study Load (or EFTSL) is a measure of the study load of a student studying on a full‑time basis. An EFTSL value is a measure of an amount of study, e.g. one EFTSL is equivalent to one year of full‑time study in a higher education course. A typical full time study load over a year is usually 8 units of 0.125 EFTSL each.

A low completion rate is a fail rate of more than 50 per cent of the units of study you have attempted, after you have attempted eight or more units of study in a bachelor level or higher course (or four or more units in a higher education course lower than a bachelor course.)

These changes came into effect in 2022.

Special circumstances are circumstances that:

• are beyond your control
• do not make the full impact on you until on or after the census date of the unit
• make it impracticable for you to complete the unit.

Circumstances that may be considered special circumstances by your provider in relation to not counting a failed unit towards your completion rate include:

• illness or a worsening, or changing, medical condition
• a family member dying
• a family member having a serious medical condition
• financial difficulties experienced by you or your family
• changes to your employment
• changes your provider makes that disadvantage you
• a natural disaster or other emergency in Australia
• any other circumstances that your provider considers relevant.

Providers are responsible for assessing applications for special circumstances. If your application for special circumstances for a unit is successful, any fail grade you received for that unit will not be counted towards your completion rate. As well, your provider may cancel your HELP debt or refund any upfront payments you made for the unit.

These changes came into effect in 2022.

The Tertiary Access Payment will be available for school leavers who:

• have relocated to study at an education provider, which includes: (1) a vocational education and training (VET) provider that offer higher-level tertiary education courses (Certificate IV or above), (2) a non-university higher education provider (NUHEP), or (3) university, at least 90 minutes by public transport from their family home, OR have relocated to study at an education provider and are registered and accessing a Regional University Study Hub or Suburban University Study Hub at least 90 minutes by public transport from their family home
• are from an inner-regional, outer-regional, remote or very remote area (use the Student Regional Area Search tool to check eligibility)
• are aged up to 22 at time they commence their course
• have completed year 12 or equivalent
• are in their first year of tertiary study
• are studying face to face, or in dual delivery method, for at least part of the course
• are enrolled full time in a Certificate IV or above qualification, with a course duration of at least one academic year
• meet Australian citizenship or residency requirements
• have parents or guardians whose income is under the current combined parental income limit of $250,000 if they are dependant.

The TAP is a payment made in a student’s first year of eligible study. Students will only be eligible for the TAP once.

Successful applicants from outer regional and remote areas will be paid up to $5,000 in their first year of study. The payment is made in two instalments. The first payment is made six weeks after the qualifying tertiary course start date.

Successful applicants from inner regional areas will be paid a single payment of $3,000 after confirmation of enrolment in your first year of study.

The payment is made six weeks after the qualifying tertiary course start date.

Work experience in industry (WEI) units are those which comprise totally of work:

• that is done as part of, or in connection with, a course of study undertaken with a provider
• the purpose of which is to obtain work experience relevant to the course of study.

These units do not currently receive CGS funding, reducing the incentive for universities to offer them. By making these units eligible for CGS funding, more universities will look at offering WEI units.

If you were enrolled before 1 January 2021 and are continuing units in disciplines with increased student contribution amounts, you will continue paying the same amount as you would have, had these reforms not been implemented.

Students enrolled in units that will be subject to a lower student contribution amount under the new design will pay the new lower student contribution, regardless of when they commenced their course.

If you are an eligible domestic university student, you can still defer your upfront costs through a HECS-HELP loan. If you want to study at university, you should continue to consider all relevant aspects of this big decision. Like in high school, students tend to do best when they study the things that they are interested in.

Check out the employment outcomes for different fields of study on the ComparEd website, and the Course Seeker website can help you find the course that’s right for you.

Students who did not complete the original course before 31 December 2020 and change to a different course in 2021 will pay the new rates for their course.

The loan fee exemption applies to units of study with census dates from 1 April 2020 to 31 December 2021. The reduction in the FEE‑HELP loan fee from 25 per cent to 20 per cent applies to units of study with census dates on or after 1 January 2022.

Loan fees are designed to offset the costs the Government incurs in facilitating HELP loans. Reducing but not completely removing the FEE‑HELP loan fee allows the HELP scheme to remain sustainable, while also reducing the financial burden on students.

Robert is required to pay a student contribution amount for a unit of study of $2,745 by 31 January 2021 and makes an upfront payment in relation to the unit of $900 on 20 January 2021.

Robert is entitled to HECS‑HELP assistance for the unit of $1,845 ($2,745 minus $900), which the Commonwealth must pay to the higher education provider.

The upfront payment in relation to the unit exceeded $500 so there is a HECS‑HELP discount of $100 (one‑ninth of $900). The Commonwealth lends to Robert the remainder of the HECS‑HELP assistance in relation to the unit, an amount of $1,745 ($1,845 minus $100).

If the student is eligible for the HECS‑HELP discount, and the student makes an upfront payment of more than 90 per cent of the student contribution amount, then the provider must refund the student any excess upfront payment over 90 per cent of the student contribution amount.

The usual administrative arrangements about upfront payments will continue to apply. Students are not required to cancel their HECS‑HELP request form if they subsequently choose to pay their fees upfront before the census date. If full payment is made on or before the census date (or earlier administrative date) for a unit of study, the student will not incur a HELP debt for that unit.

More information about upfront payments can be found in the Administrative Information for Providers 2020.

The new HELP eligibility requirements introduced by these measures require students to:

• be a genuine student
• be assessed as academically suited to their course by their provider
• limit their enrolment to 2.0 EFTSL (i.e. two years or less) worth of study per year unless their provider has assessed them as academically suited to undertake more study
• maintain a reasonable completion rate.

Factors that contribute to a provider’s assessment of a student as ‘genuine’ include:

• a student’s engagement with the course
• whether the student has been provided with information about the requirements for, and the cost and duration of the course
• whether the student has satisfied the course requirements and completed their assessments
• the number of times a student studying online has logged onto the course
• whether the student has provided up‑to‑date contact details that enable the Department to contact the student to verify the student’s enrolment in the course
• any concurrent enrolments in other courses that may make it impossible or highly improbable for the student to complete the course in question.

Students will not be eligible for Commonwealth assistance for a unit of study if their study load for the preceding 12 month period is greater than 2.0 Equivalent Full Time Study Load (EFTSL).

As providers cannot see a student’s enrolment across other providers, providers will receive near real time notifications through the Tertiary Collection of Student Information (TCSI) system when a student’s enrolment in a unit exceeds 2.0 EFTSL limit in a year. Providers will need to contact their students to assess them as academically suitable and able to successfully undertake 2.0 EFTSL or reduce their study load.

A student with a low completion rate can:

• continue their course by paying upfront. If the student increases their completion rate to 50 per cent or higher by paying upfront for one or more units, they will once again be eligible for Commonwealth assistance for that course.
• transfer to a new course. If a student with a low completion rate transfers to a different course their previous completion rate will not carry over, i.e. they will able to access Commonwealth assistance for their new course.
  • Depending on the content of their new course and the policies of their provider, the student may also be able to credit some (or all) the units they passed in their previous course towards their new course.
• apply to their provider for special consideration for a failed unit or unit to not be counted towards their completion rate. The student will need to demonstrate special circumstances have applied to them for their application to be successful.

These changes came into effect in 2022.

Financial reporting requirements in the Higher Education Provider Guidelines 2012 only apply to non‑university higher education providers who do not have to produce general purpose financial statements. These add small requirements that the financial statements adhere to certain accounting standards. These requirements do not apply to public universities.

Enabling the Government to audit universities for compliance under the legislation is reasonable, as higher education providers are recipients of significant Commonwealth funding. This power would only be used when necessary.

The department will publish the new rates and will also continue to publish the “old” rates each year for grandfathered students. For units in those disciplines with increased student contributions, universities will need to determine the maximum student contribution amount that applies to that student depending on whether that student is a grandfathered student.

Where a student commenced a course of study as a Commonwealth supported student before 2021, but had not completed the course of study by the end of 2020, and they took a break from their studies by deferring, they are considered a grandfathered student on their return to that course of study.

Students who did not pass a census date before 1 January 2021 will not be grandfathered.

This policy applies to all CSPs, regardless of the institution or level of course.

The funding floor will apply to Table A providers.

No. The department will calculate funding floor amounts for 2021 to 2024 based on 2019 enrolment information. This does two things: it provides funding certainty to universities and ensures that any effect on enrolment numbers by the COVID-19 pandemic do not adversely influence university funding amounts.

A metropolitan campus will be categorised as high-growth metropolitan if it is ASGS SA4 area has a projected population growth rate for 15 to 29-year olds above the average for all metropolitan SA4s, averaged over a three year funding agreement period. Further details are provided in the technical note. 

While universities will be able to use CGS funding within the envelope for sub-bachelor, bachelor, or postgraduate courses, a “notional bachelor funding”, based on current non-designated MBGAs (subject to the effects of the cluster redesign), will be maintained for the purposes of calculating additional places growth funding.

This policy applies only to Table A universities. There is other additional funding in the JRG package that applies to non-university providers and private universities.

The funding floor will apply to Table A providers.

No. The department will calculate funding floor amounts for 2021 to 2024 based on 2019 enrolment information. This does two things: it provides funding certainty to universities and ensures that any effect on enrolment numbers by the COVID-19 pandemic do not adversely influence university funding amounts.

A metropolitan campus will be categorised as high-growth metropolitan if it is ASGS SA4 area has a projected population growth rate for 15 to 29-year olds above the average for all metropolitan SA4s, averaged over a three year funding agreement period. Further details are provided in the technical note. 

While universities will be able to use CGS funding within the envelope for sub-bachelor, bachelor, or postgraduate courses, a “notional bachelor funding”, based on current non-designated MBGAs (subject to the effects of the cluster redesign), will be maintained for the purposes of calculating additional places growth funding.

This policy applies only to Table A universities. There is other additional funding in the JRG package that applies to non-university providers and private universities.

Letting universities decide how CSPs should be distributed across levels within their funding envelope is an extension of existing policy. Under this measure, non-medical courses at bachelor, postgraduate coursework and sub-bachelor (diploma, advanced diploma, and associate degree) levels, will not have any allocated places in funding agreements. This means universities can deliver the mix of course levels that is most appropriate for their students and communities, within a fixed maximum level of funding or the Maximum Basic Grant Amount (MBGA) for higher education courses (the envelope). There will not be any minimum or maximum levels of delivery specified for courses at each level. The department will monitor delivery with a view to informing the Government on the success of the initiative.

The previous arrangements where the number of enabling courses that could be delivered was limited as set out in funding agreements no longer apply. While the 2021-23 funding agreements set out the quantum of loading funding provided by the Enabling Loading Program (ELP), a university may offer more enabling courses than provided for in its ELP allocation by continuing to use its MBGA to offer places for these courses.

Universities enrolling students in enabling courses under their MBGA in excess of ELP funding levels specified in their funding agreements will not receive further ELP grant payments in respect of those places. Enabling loading is provided in lieu of student contribution amount, as students undertaking an enabling course in a CSP do not pay a student contribution.

The Government has introduced a Higher Education Continuity Guarantee (HECG) that will guarantee CGS payments for public universities in 2021, 2022 and 2023. The HECG provides stability to public universities so they can focus on transitioning their operations to the new arrangements. Further information can be found at the Higher Education Continuity Guarantee FAQ.

Universities will not be able to transfer their allocated CSPs from their bachelor, sub‑bachelor or postgraduate allocation to medical places. The Australian Government regulates the number of medical CSPs in order to manage the number of clinical placements and the flow-on impact on the health budget. Medical CSPs will continue to be regulated under the funding envelope model.

Pre-COVID economic parameters, specifically CPI, will be used (for 2021 to 2023) when working out HECG amounts in order to provide support and certainty for universities as the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sector continue.  

COVID-19 has had a deflationary impact on the economy, meaning that CPI is significantly lower than the long-term average trend. By guaranteeing funding based on pre-COVID means university funding will not be adversely affected.

No. MBGAs during the transition period (2021-2023) are calculated based on the most recently available data (2019). The HECG will ensure that universities receiving their full MBGA funding amounts. As a result, actual enrolment numbers for these years will not impact guaranteed MBGAs.

No. Transition fund loading amounts will be reconciled when actual data is available. The Government introduced transition fund loading to help universities transition to the new JRG reforms by maintaining their revenue during this period. The Government introduced the HECG in recognition of the impact that COVID-19 has had on the sector.

A 3-year transition period (2021-2023) covers off a reasonable period of time to account for lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. When the JRG reforms are fully implemented in 2024 we expect that universities will have adapted to the new system and will have the capacity to attract strong student enrolment numbers.

No. The TFL calculation does not include the funding allocated for the national priority places at higher education providers.

The first TFL payment will be made as part of the first routine fortnight payment as per current arrangement.

Yes. The estimate was based on the student profile and load in each provider in 2019 and the assumed profile remains the same for the next funding period 2021-23. Over-enrolment or under-enrolment in 2019 could affect the TFL estimation by the department. The TFL estimates are indicative and will be reconciled using the actual student load in each year during the transition period. Further details regarding TFL reconciliation are to be provided.

Under the Higher Education Continuity Guarantee, the Government is guaranteeing CGS payments for public universities for the 2021, 2022 and 2023 grant years. Public universities will receive the maximum amount of Commonwealth funding to which they are entitled, regardless of any change to their enrolments in CSPs. This means the actual enrolment each year only influences the student contribution component and the funding for additional places of a provider’s base funding and the TFL under the package.

Providers will receive an NPILF amount which corresponds to the number of CSPs they are allocated with each year, as outlined in the table below:

For NPILF, only Table A providers are eligible.

For IRLSAF, current eligibility criteria for the Higher Education Participation and Partnerships Program, regional loading, enabling loading, and relevant elements of the National Institutes Grant (NIG) will continue to apply until 2023.

The Government wants to create clear legislative intent that the programs comprising the IRLSAF until 2023 must be used to improve higher education participation and attainment for Indigenous, regional and low-SES students.

During the transition period from 2021 to 2023, the department will work closely with the university sector to co-design a final model for the IRLSAF which is dynamic, fit-for-purpose and maintains the objects of the programs comprising the IRLSAF.

Four universities currently receive funding through the National Institutes Grant. This funding will be rolled into the new funds, with the Government working with the affected universities to determine the most sensible way of doing this.

Universities can offer short courses in all fields of education. Non-university higher education providers can offer short courses in fields such as agriculture, teaching, health science engineering, and information technology.

For non-self-accrediting authorities, courses must be approved by TEQSA. Non-university higher education providers looking to have short courses approved should consult the TEQSA website as soon as practicable.

Fares Allowance is a payment through Services Australia to assist students to travel between their permanent home address and their place of tertiary study. More details are available at www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/individuals/services/Centrelink/fares-allowance.

In 2020 students must be receiving Youth Allowance, Austudy or the Pensioner Education Supplement (PES) for six months before they can access a return trip home under Fares Allowance during their first year of study. This change will reduce the waiting period from six months to three months, to allow students to travel home in the mid-year break in their first year. All other aspects of Fares Allowance and the eligibility criteria will remain the same. Changes will commence from 1 January 2021, to benefit students who begin receiving Youth Allowance, Austudy or PES for the 2021 academic year.

The requirements apply to all Commonwealth assisted students at universities who commence a course from 1 January 2022.

A student will be assessed as having a low completion rate if they have failed more than 50 per cent of their units of study from 1 January 2022, after they have attempted eight or more units of study at the bachelor level or above. If the course is below the bachelor level, the rule applies after the student has completed four or more units of study from 1 January 2022.

If a student withdraws from a unit on or before the census date, the unit will not count towards the student’s pass-rate (i.e. for the purposes of the pass-rate calculation, the unit should be treated as if the student had never enrolled in the unit).

Where a student withdraws from a unit after the census date in special circumstances prescribed in section 36‑21 HESA and Chapter 3 of the Administration Guidelines, this will also not constitute a failed unit for the purposes of course progression.

However, if a provider’s academic progression or withdrawal policy allows for a student to withdraw from a unit after the census date without academic penalty, that unit will count towards the student’s pass-rate. This is consistent with the purpose of the policy, which is to prevent students from incurring HELP debts for study they are unsuited for.

The progression requirements only apply within a course of study. When a student changes course, the progression requirements reset.

Providers will be able to recognise previously completed units in prior courses as Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) as per their RPL policy. Any approved RPL units will count as ‘completed’ units for the course they contribute towards for the purpose of the progression requirements.

However, before enrolling a student in a unit of study, providers must assess whether the student is academically suited to that unit (HESA section 19-42). Prior failure to pass similar units in a different course would be a relevant consideration for this assessment.

A student with a low completion rate is not eligible for any Commonwealth assistance, including a CSP. However, if they improve their pass‑rate to 50 per cent or more through study in a fee‑paying place, they will be able to be reinstated in their CSP in that course.

Commonwealth assistance should only be ceased after the student has undertaken the threshold number of units - eight units in the case of study at the bachelor level or higher, or four units in the case of higher education study at a level lower than a bachelor degree.

However, providers are encouraged to connect students to support services if their study patterns put them at risk of Commonwealth assistance. Providers are also encouraged to discuss alternate course options available to students that they may be better suited to.

If a student with a low completion rate wishes to continue to study in the same course, their provider may enrol them as a fee-paying domestic student.

The provider has the ability to offer a student a full fee-paying place, even if the student is an undergraduate student, as the student is ineligible for a Commonwealth supported place.

Under section 36-30 of HESA, providers must enrol undergraduate students in Commonwealth-supported places unless they are prohibited from doing so under Subdivision 36-B (section 36-30(1)(b); section 36-30(3)(c)). The pass-rate requirement (section 36-13) falls within Subdivision 36-B of HESA, allowing providers who are prohibited from enrolling students with a low completion rate in a CSP to enrol those students in a fee-paying place.

The progression requirements apply to all students. For those undertaking bachelor or higher courses, the threshold is 8 units. For those completing lower courses, the threshold is 4 units. Students who do not meet progression requirements will lose access to all Commonwealth assistance, including FEE-HELP assistance.

Where the number of successfully completed units (numerator), when considered over the number of all units attempted (denominator) equals 50 per cent or more, a student would be eligible for Commonwealth assistance again, assuming all other eligibility requirements are also met.

All units undertaken will be used for the progression test, not just units which were accessed with Commonwealth assistance. For example, if a student loses their CSP after passing only three out of eight units, they may become eligible again after enrolling in and passing two more units as a fee‑paying student within the same course. This would give them five out of ten units passed, or a 50 per cent pass-rate.

Similarly, an international student who commenced from 2022 and who gains citizenship and therefore eligibility for HELP will need to meet the 50 per cent progression requirement for all units undertaken within the course, not just the units for which they have had Commonwealth support.

A student is eligible for Commonwealth assistance in a course where they have passed 50 per cent of their units or more in that course, after the pass-rate begins to apply. The pass-rate operates within a course, meaning that units passed in course B would not affect the pass-rate in course A, unless the provider counted units passed in course B towards course A through its RPL policy.

No.

In assessing special circumstances decisions in this scenario, providers should be mindful that the decision may affect a student’s future eligibility for Commonwealth assistance and advise the student accordingly.

Under HESA, the new section 96-10 discharges a student’s liability to pay their student contribution amounts (SCA) if a student’s HELP balance is re-credited under Division 97 of HESA. Section 110 similarly discharges a student’s liability to pay their tuition fees if their HELP balance is re-credited under Subdivision 104‑B of HESA.

‘Fault’ is not referenced in the legislation and rather refers to the purpose of these sections, which is to prevent unscrupulous or careless providers from assessing ineligible students as eligible for Commonwealth assistance, and then pursuing those students for their tuition costs if those loans are later re-credited.

In Division 97, section 97-50(1) provides that a higher education provider must, on the Secretary’s behalf, re-credit a person’s HELP balance with an amount equal to the amounts of HECS-HELP assistance that the person received for a unit of study if the provider or the Secretary is satisfied that the person was not entitled to receive HECS-HELP assistance for the unit of study with the provider. A similar provision under Subdivision 104-B requires providers to re-credit a student’s HELP balance if the Secretary is satisfied the student was not entitled to receive FEE-HELP assistance for the unit (section 104-44(2)).

The effect of sections 96-10 and 110-10 is that if a provider approved a student for a HELP loan for a unit when they were not entitled to under the progression requirements at section 36‑13 or section 104‑1A, and the student’s HELP balance was later re-credited under Division 97, section 97-50(1) or Subdivision 104‑B, section 104-44(2) because of this, the student would not be liable to pay the SCA or tuition fee for that unit.